This blog is the second of a two-part series. In the first installment, I explained how retailers use beacon technology, and more recently, audio beacon technology, to expand communications with consumers while tailoring such communications to consumers’ surroundings.1 Despite the successes retailers have experienced as a result of the implementation of the technology, consumers have…
Month: January 2017
The Cuba Embargo and Financial Sanctions
Foreign financial institutions are reluctant to deal with the Cuban Government. The main issue at stake is the long running Cuban Embargo by the Government of the United States. In February 1962, President John F. Kennedy proclaimed an embargo on trade between the United States and Cuba, in response to certain actions taken by the…
Project Finance in Cuba: Can it be done?
In August 2016 Groupe ADP, a French airport operator, in consortium with Bouygues Bâtiment International, a French construction company, obtained the concession for the expansion and administration of the “Jose Marti International Airport” in Havana, Cuba (Havana Airport).1 This comes at a crucial time for air transportation and tourist development in the Caribbean Island. The…
What’s Next for Merchants and Consumers After the Second Circuit’s Decision in United States v. American Express?
On September 26, 2016, the Second Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals threw out a 2015 antitrust decision against American Express Company.1 The decision is the latest development in a five-year saga between the U.S. Department of Justice and seventeen individual states against Amex for its “nondiscrimination provisions,” or NDPs, which are contractual provisions that prohibit…
Big Law Partners; De-Equitization of Partners
First to recap my prior blog post, Big Law firms are facing increased pressure from clients and the market to reign in their exorbitant costs. The traditional two-tier partnership model places an emphasis on profits per equity partner. This management structure manages the complex law firm organization as if it were still the small, collegial…
The Investment Modernization Act of 2016, Part 2 of 2
Policy Considerations And Potential Business Impact Perhaps the two most relevant provisions of the Investment Modernization Act of 2016 are the changes to restrictions on advertising in sections 2(b)(1)-(2), and the reduction in reporting requirements on the Form PF for many investment advisers in section 3(a).1 The bill passed the House on September 9, 2016.2…
The Legality of The DAO
The DAO (a for-profit Distributed or Decentralized Autonomous Organization) raised more than $100 million to support the sharing economy, making it the largest crowdfunded project in human history.1 However, a careful look at the constitution of The DAO reveals that its legal ambiguities contributed to the resolution of its infamous hack in June of 2016….
Blockchain Technology Can Help Law Enforcement
Blockchain is a distributed ledger that enables individuals to conduct exchanges and can eliminate third-party involvement.1 Blockchain technology enables the first incident in which peers can conduct transfers of value directly, fostering increased efficiency in financial transactions.2 Furthermore, as a result of eliminating the traditional reliance on a bank, blockchain technology makes it cheaper for…
The CFPB and the DC Court of Appeals: A Rebuke and Question of Constitutionality
On October 11, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia delivered what is perhaps the biggest setback to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) to date. The court held the structure and independence of the federal government’s relatively new consumer financial monitor to be unconstitutional in an opinion rebuking the CFPB for…
What a Trump Presidency Means for Detroit
After January 20th, two things are certain: Donald Trump is the President and Detroit is experiencing a robust comeback after filing for municipal bankruptcy four years ago. Donald Trump has promised to renegotiate trade deals and lower the corporate tax rate. If Trump can make good on his promises, how will these changes impact the…